by Wally Steele

Created on: March 05, 2010   Last Updated: March 08, 2010

Why bad things can happen to good people. 

I have lived long enough now to know that things just happen, but the key to your well being is how you react to them.  I have tried very hard to live a life that would classify me as a good person but I have been hit by many situations that would fall into that bad category.  Recently I was laid off my job and one month later my home was hit by lightning and burned to the ground; we lost everything.  I did at first fall into that trap of why me, until I looked around and was able to see how much I still had.  I had not been abandoned at all, I was not being punished, evil was not attacking me, things just happen.  It was now time for me to make a choice, accept the excuse that I was being attacked or to step up and make the best of the situation.

I had paid for home insurance for years and in that black moment of loss came my opportunity to start again.  The insurance company came through as advertised and we had a place to stay and the funds to rebuild a new home.  As I began anew people began to share with me stories of their past losses as well.  I was not alone and it soon became apparent that I was not the only victim of a fire.  Things happen! So I understood once again I was not being attacked because I was trying to do good,  things just happen.

I think we too often blame the battle of good and evil for situations that we do not understand.  If we live in this world we can expect that things will happen, some will be good and others will be bad, but it how we react to them that will determine the final outcome.  As I took a real look at the victims of what we call bad things, I came to the realization that it happens to so many people that it was difficult to say it only happened to good people.  Bad things have happened to people of different faiths, different beliefs, different life styles and of course different values. Things just happen!  The true test of a person is how they react.  The true character of a person comes when they react to adversity.

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